1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ice makers, and in particular to slab-type ice makers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,155 of Russell W. Ayres et al., owned by the assignee hereof, an ice cube making apparatus is disclosed wherein the ice is formed as a slab of clear ice sufficient in size to form a number of ice cubes. When a slab of the desired thickness is produced on an evaporator portion of the ice maker, the freezing operation is discontinued and the support on which the ice slab is formed is heated to disengage the slab of ice and cause it to move downwardly onto a grid of electrically heated wires which slowly melt through the ice separating the slab into individual cubes.
To form the ice on the evaporator plate, water is recirculated over the plate by means of a pump, the water flowing downwardly from the plate being collected in a water pan for return to an upper end of the evaporator plate by the action of the pump.
The ice maker is installed in an insulated cabinet which conventionally is provided with a liner defining the inner wall surface thereof. In the Ayers et al patent, the water tank is supported on a shelf and other portions of the apparatus are secured to the cabinet by mounting clips and the like.
In the subsequent Russell W. Ayres et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,905, another form of such ice cube forming machine is disclosed having a downwardly extending drain 89 for delivering the returned water from the evaporator to the water pan. Here again, the water pan is carried on a shelf portion of the cabinet.
In Donald F. Swanson U.S. Pat. No. 3,164,972, owned by the assignee hereof, a mounting for the ice maker cutting grid is disclosed comprising a plurality of mounting clips including resilient blocks.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,736 of Donald F. Swanson, owned by the assignee hereof, a plate type evaporator for ice slabs is shown wherein a trough is provided at the lower end of the evaporator for delivering the water through a drain tube to a subjacent sump water pan.